Backer Panel for Form Liners

ABSTRACT

A structurally supportive backer panel formed to fit within the recesses of a form liner to support the form liner when casting textured surfaces into concrete. The backer panel has a series of protrusions which fit within the recesses of the form liner in order to prevent the concrete pressure from deflecting and buckling the form liner. When the wet concrete is poured into a form fitted with the backer panel and form liner, the concrete fills the form and contacts the form liner, wherein the backer panel ensures that the shape of the form liner is not affected by the pressure and weight of the concrete.

RELATED APPLICATION

This application is a continuation application of U.S. patentapplication Ser. No. 14/743,553 entitled “Backer Panel for Form Liners”filed on Jun. 18, 2015 and currently co-pending, which claims thebenefit of priority to U.S. Provisional Patent Application No.62/057,400, entitled “Backer Panel for Formliners,” filed Sep. 30, 2014.

FIELD OF INVENTION

The present invention relates generally to textured concrete surfaces.The present invention relates more particularly, though not exclusively,to the molds for producing textured concrete surfaces and supportsystems thereof.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Due to the physical characteristics of concrete, including the abilityto withstand strong compressive loads, concrete is often utilized as thebuilding material of choice to create foundations, walls, floors andvarious other structures. Concrete is a composite material composedmainly of water, aggregate, and cement that when combined forms a fluidconcrete mass. As the concrete cures, the cement forms a solid matrixbinding all of the components together into a durable stone-likematerial. In its fluid state, concrete does not have the ability to holdor take shape. Therefore, in the construction of concrete structures,temporary or permanent forms are utilized to give the concrete shape andform.

The forms generally consist of supports forming the perimeter of thestructure with sheathing placed against the supports and on top ofanother to form the walls of the structure. Ties are used to space thesheathing apart and to hold them in place. This creates the form with acavity for the fluid concrete to be poured. After the form is complete,the fluid concrete is poured into the cavity and allowed to cure. Fortemporary forms, once the concrete has been cured the form is removed toexpose the finished concrete. As a fluid mass, the concrete takes theshape of the mold as it cures, therefore more complex concretestructures may be constructed. In particular, concrete walls have beenformed with aesthetically pleasing textured surfaces.

To construct the textured surfaces on concrete walls, form liners areinserted into the cavity of the forms and secured against the sheathing.The form liners provide an alternative surface to the flat surface ofthe sheathing in which the concrete cures and takes shape. As theconcrete cures, it maintains the shape of the form liner. The formliners are used to create simple designs such as ridge, shiplap, simpleshapes, and to more complex designs such as custom designs.

Form liners are generally made in large sections, such as 4-feet by4-feet and made larger for custom applications. Due to its size, it iscrucial to control the dimensions and weight of the form liner to allowan installer to adequately handle the form liner. Typically, form linersare constructed of plastic, elastomeric urethane, semi-elastomericurethane, or any other material or combination of materials to keepweight low. The thickness of the form liner is minimized as anadditional method of controlling weight. Due to the material, the designpattern, and the dimensions of the form liner, the form liners aresusceptible to deflection due to the pressure created by the heavyconcrete. The deflection of the form liners results in the finishedconcrete surface bulging further than what was designed or intended,resulting in designs exceeding the specification. This occurrence isusually undesired and can result in the necessity to demolish andre-pour the wall at great expense and time delay.

Currently, the remedy is to cut wood or foam shapes which fit within thevoids between the form liner and the sheathing to provide support tocounter the pressure of the concrete. This is a labor-intensive methodand, in some cases, can cost more than the form liner used on the job.This defeats the purpose of using the form liner because a primarypurpose of using a form liner is to repeat a pattern or design easilyand quickly by placing textured sheets or panels adjacent to one anotherin a form without having to actually perform work on every square footof wall to be poured.

In light of the above, it would be advantageous to provide a form linersystem capable of withstanding the pressures of poured concrete in formswithout deformation. It would further be advantageous to provide abacker panel having protrusions for use with form liners to support theaxial loads on the form liner to prevent deflection. It would be furtheradvantageous to provide a form liner system which is transportable, easyto handle and easy to assemble.

BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention is a form liner backer panel system for use inconcrete forms for producing textured concrete surfaces. The inventionis designed to act as a support system for the backside of form linersmade of plastic, elastomeric urethane, semi-elastomeric urethane, or anyother material or combination of materials. A problem exists when usingformed or molded sheets or panels of form liners having unsupportedareas of pattern is that they are not supported by the form. Thepressure of the concrete poured against the form liner can causedeflection of the form liner in these unsupported areas. The resultingconcrete surface will have imperfections due to the bulge in theseunsupported areas by the amount of the deflection of the form liner.These imperfections are often more significant in the lower portion of awall or concrete structure due to the higher pressure exerted by theweight of the concrete. The finished wall is thus not built tospecifications of the project design. The present invention solves thisproblem when placed between the backside of a form liner and thesheathing by supporting the unsupported areas with a series ofprotrusions by way of flutes, ridges, or other means specific to thepattern of form liner used.

The present invention includes a form liner and a backer panel. In apreferred embodiment, the form liner has a sawtooth wave pattern havinga plurality of sawtooth sections and the backer panel has a protrusionpattern formed to fit within the saw wave pattern of the form liner. Thebacker panel includes a plurality of protrusion sections, with eachprotrusion section having a plurality of protrusions configured tooccupy a corresponding recess defined by a sawtooth section of the formliner. The plurality of protrusion sections of the backer panel areconfigured to fit within the recesses of the form liner, where thebacker panel fits flush to create the form liner backer panel system forforming textured concrete surfaces.

The backer panel provides structural support to the form liner toprevent the form liner from buckling and deflecting due to the excessivepressure of the poured concrete. The backer panel serves as protrusionsto support the horizontal members of the sawtooth wave pattern of theform liner. The backer panel provides a plurality of vertical memberscapable of withstanding higher forces before buckling compared to theforces required for the horizontal members of the form finer to deflect.The backer panel supports the force on the form liner and transfers theforce through the backer panel to the sheathing of the form system. Thesheathing and support of the form system has higher rigidity andstructural strength compared to the form liner and the backer panel, andthus is able to easily withstand the pressures of the concrete. Theformation of the form liner and backer panel with a plurality ofcorresponding recesses results in a lightweight product relative to thevolume occupied.

The form liner and backer panel support system is further configured tobe compact and easily transportable. The form liner and backer panel aretwo distinct pieces which mount to form the form finer backer panelsystem for use. When not in use, the form liner and backer panels may beseparated. By separating the form liner and backer panel from eachother, each form liner is able to be stacked on top of another and eachbacker panel is able to be stacked on top of another as well. The formliners and backer panels used for a particular job may be stacked forcompact storage and transport. Also, by separating the form liner andbacker panel, the weight of any individual piece is reduced for easierhandling.

In various alternative embodiments, the form liner pattern may be variedand include, but not limited to, fluted patterns, fin patterns, brickpatterns, block patterns, wood grain patterns, textured patterns andother custom patterns. The backer panel pattern will be formed toprovide a plurality of protrusions formed to conform to the pattern ofthe form liner to provide structural support to prevent the form linerfrom buckling and deflecting. The backer panel pattern may be made ofvarious shapes such as cylindrical, tubular, triangular, spherical,conical, hexagonal pyramids or any other shape which may be utilized toprovide a structure to support multidimensional forces.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a front elevation view of a prior art form used to construct aconcrete wall with a sawtooth pattern;

FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view taken along line 2-2 of FIG. 1, showingthe prior art form having a sawtooth pattern form liner installed withinand a detail of the deflection of the sawtooth pattern form liner due tothe pressure of the concrete;

FIG. 3 is a close-up view of the cross-sectional view of FIG. 2 takenalong line 2-2 of FIG. 1 showing the prior art form having a sawtoothpattern form liner installed within and a detail of the deflection ofthe sawtooth pattern form liner due to the pressure of the concrete;

FIG. 4 is an exploded view of the form liner backer panel system of thepresent invention having a form liner and a backer panel;

FIG. 5 is a top plan view of the form liner showing the sawtoothpattern;

FIG. 6 is a top plan view of the backer panel having a sawtooth patternwith a plurality of protrusions making up each sawtooth;

FIG. 7 is a top plan view of the backer panel received by the formliner, wherein the protrusions section of the backer panel creates arigid frame structure to support the form finer thereby increasing thestrength of the form liner backer panel system;

FIG. 8 shows a perspective detailed view of the attachment method forthe form liner and backer panel of the present invention;

FIG. 9 shows a top plan view of a prior art form having the form linerbacker panel system of the present invention installed within, the formliner having a sawtooth pattern and the backer panel installed betweenthe sawtooth form liner and the prior art form surface;

FIG. 10 is a close-up view of the top plan view shown in FIG. 9 of theprior art form having the form liner backer panel system of the presentinvention installed within, the form liner having a sawtooth pattern andthe backer panel installed between the sawtooth form liner and the priorart form surface;

FIG. 11 shows a top plan view of a form having an alternative embodimentof the form liner backer panel system of the present invention installedwithin, the form liner having a fluted rib pattern and the backer panelinstalled between the fluted rib form liner and the form surface;

FIG. 12 shows a top plan view of FIG. 11 of the form having analternative embodiment of the form liner backer panel system of thepresent invention installed within, the form liner having a fluted ribpattern and the backer panel installed between the fluted rib form linerand the form surface;

FIG. 13 shows a perspective view of an alternative embodiment of abacker panel having truncated cone protrusions; and

FIG. 14 shows a perspective view of an alternative embodiment of abacker panel having rectangular tube protrusions.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Referring initially to FIG. 1, a prior art form system used to create aconcrete wall 50 is shown and generally designated 10. The form system10 includes a plurality of supports 14 inserted into a ground to form arough perimeter outline of the concrete wall. Inserted between andattached to the supports 14 is a plurality of sheathing 12. Thesheathing 12 is stacked upon one another to form a mold with four walls.Concrete is poured into the mold to form a wall having relatively flatsurfaces.

Referring now to FIG. 2, in conjunction with FIG. 3, a cross-sectionalview of the form system 10 taken along line 2-2 of FIG. 1 is shown. Toform a textured concrete surface, form liners 20 are attached to thesheathing 12. The form liner 20 is placed inside the form system 10 andmounted to the interior surface 13 of the sheathing 12 with screws,glue, or industrial tape. Concrete 16 is poured into the mold created bythe sheathing 12 and comes into contact with the form liner 20. As theconcrete 16 cures, the concrete wall 50 will hold the shape of the moldand have a textured surface with the pattern of the form liner 20. Theouter surface or sheathing 12, made of plywood, sheet metal or otherrelatively flat material is supported by the supports 14, made ofI-beams, wailers, or other structure, creating a rigid perimeter toprovide structure to withstand the pressure of the concrete 16 pouredwithin.

The cross-section 2-2 of the form system 10 is taken at a lower depthwhere greater pressures are exerted on the posterior surface 26 of theform liner 20. Concrete is a very dense material and in its fluid formexerts a tremendous amount of pressure. In its fluid form, the pressureexerted by the concrete increases with depth. The highest point of theform experiences the least amount of pressure and the lowest point ofthe form experiences the highest pressure. Due to the pressure profileof the concrete, the form liner 20 experiences different forces alongits height.

The effect of the increase in pressure at the lower depth results in adeflection 32 in the form liner 20. The deflection 32 results from therecess 34 between the interior surface 13 of the sheathing 12 and theanterior surface 28 of the form liner 20. Specifically, the form liner20 is constructed having a sawtooth pattern having a vertical member 22and a horizontal member 24. The vertical member 22 is substantiallyperpendicular with the interior surface 13 of the sheathing 12 whereasthe horizontal member 24 is angled from the top of the vertical member22 to the interior surface 13 of the sheathing 12. The horizontal member24 is unsupported as it spans from the vertical member 22 to thesheathing 12. This provides a large unsupported surface area in whichthe concrete 16 contacts and exerts its force 30. The horizontal member24 of the form liner 20 is subject to deflection 32 into the recess 34due to the force 30 of the concrete 16. Should deflection 32 occur,deformation 24 b (shown in dashed lines) of the horizontal member 24 ofthe form liner 20 occurs. With enough force 30, the vertical member 22will buckle 36 and deform 22 b (shown in dashed lines). When deflectionand buckling occurs, the resulting concrete surface will bulge outfurther than what was designed or intended. The resulting defect isreadily visible, usually undesired and can result in the necessity todemolish and re-pour the wall at great expense and time delay.

Currently, the remedy to form liner deformation due to deflection andbuckling is to cut wood or foam shapes which fit within the recess 34 toprovide support to counter the force 30 of the concrete 16 mixture. Thisis a labor-intensive method and in some cases, can cost more than theform liner 20 used on the job. This defeats the purpose of using formliner 20 because the purpose of using form liner 20 is to repeat apattern or design easily and quickly by placing textured sheets orpanels adjacent to one another in a form system 10 without having toactually perform work on every square foot of wall to be poured. Thepresent invention solves this problem by supporting the recesses 34 andmaintaining the ease of use of a form liner 20 panel while adding veryminimal, if any, extra labor to the process.

Referring now to FIG. 4, an exploded view of the preferred embodiment ofthe form liner backer panel system is shown and generally designated100. The form liner backer panel system 100 includes a backer panel 110and a form liner 150. The form liner 150 has an anterior surface 157 andposterior surface 158 and is formed with protrusion geometry 159. In thepreferred embodiment, the protrusion geometry 159 is a repeatingsawtooth pattern with a plurality of identical sawtooth sections 160.The form liner 150 is formed as a sheet with a length 156, a height 155and a width 153. The backer panel 110 has an anterior surface 117 andposterior surface 118 and is formed with a protrusion geometry 119. Inthe preferred embodiment, the protrusion geometry 119 is a repeatingsawtooth pattern with a plurality of sawtooth where each sawtooth isformed as a protrusion section 120. The backer panel 110 is formed intoa sheet with a length 116, a height 114 and a width 112.

The sawtooth section 160 of the form liner 150, described in conjunctionwith FIG. 5, includes a vertical member 162 and a horizontal member 164.The horizontal member 164 has a thickness 170 and a width 172. Thevertical member 162 has a thickness 174 and a height 176. The verticalmember 162 extends substantially vertically between a lower plane 152(shown by dashed lines) and an upper plane 154 (shown by dashed lines).The horizontal member 164 is angled from the top of the vertical member162 to the lower plane 152. The sawtooth section 160 is then repeated toform the protrusion geometry 159 as a sawtooth pattern for the formliner 150. The horizontal member 164 is unsupported as it spans from thevertical member 162 to a subsequent vertical member 162 of the nextsawtooth section 160, creating a recess 166 under the horizontal member164. As described above in conjunction with FIGS. 1 and 2, this providesa large unsupported surface area where excess pressure subjects thehorizontal member 164 to deflection. The horizontal member 164 of theform liner 150 is subject to deflection. As a flat sheet, the strengthanalysis of the horizontal member 164 may be simplified as a model of abeam fixed at two points. The force that the horizontal member 164 canwithstand before deflection is a function of its material properties,width 172 and thickness 170. The greater the width 172 and the smallerthe thickness 170, the less force the horizontal member 164 will be ableto withstand before deflecting. The backer panel 110 of the form linerbacker panel system 100 is utilized to prevent deflection in the formliner 150.

The protrusion section 120 of the backer panel 110, described inconjunction with FIG. 6, includes a plurality of protrusions 121 forminga rectangular wave pattern. Each protrusion 121 has a first verticalmember 122, a first horizontal member 124, a second vertical member 126and a second horizontal member 128. The first vertical member 122 has athickness 144 and a height 146, the second vertical member 126 has athickness 149 and a height 145 less than height 146, the firsthorizontal member 124 has a thickness 140 and a width 142, and thesecond horizontal member 128 has a thickness 147 and a width 148. Thefirst vertical member 122 and the second vertical member 126 areconnected at the top by first horizontal member 124, thereby providingthe first horizontal member 124 as a platform to support forces. Thefirst vertical member 122 and second vertical member 126 serve assupports for the first horizontal member 124. The second horizontalmember 128 connects the second vertical member 126 to a subsequent firstvertical member 122 of a subsequent protrusion 121, with the pluralityof protrusions 121 repeating to form the protrusion section 120.

The dimensions of each protrusion 121 is restrained within an upperplane 130 (shown by dashed lines) and a lower plane 132 (shown by dashedlines), wherein the upper plane 130 is defined by the horizontal member164 of the form liner 150 and the lower plane 132 is defined by thelower plane 152 of the form liner 150 plus the thickness 147. The upperplane 130 is formed at an angle which results in the first horizontalmember 124 of each protrusion 121 to be oriented at the same angle. Thisallows the first horizontal member 124 of each protrusion 121 to mountflush with the horizontal member 164 of the form liner 150. Additionallyas shown, the protrusion section 120 includes four (4) protrusions witheach subsequent protrusion 121 located to the left decreasing in overallheight. By restraining and confining the protrusions 121 of theprotrusion section 120, it ensures the protrusion section 120 of thebacker panel 110 fits within the recesses 166 of the form liner 150 toprovide structural support to resist buckling and deflection.

The vertical member 122 and vertical member 126 of the backer panel 110are subject to buckling as vertically oriented members. As verticallyoriented members, the strength analysis of the vertical member 122 andvertical member 126 may be simplified as a model of a vertical columnfixed at two points. The force that the vertical members can withstandbefore buckling is a function of its material properties, geometricalcross-section, height and thickness. With material properties andgeometrical cross-section the same as the horizontal member 164 of theform liner 150, the greater the thickness 144 and 149 and the smallerthe height 146 and 145 for vertical members 122 and 126, respectively,the greater the force they will be able to withstand before buckling.Each subsequent vertical member decreases in height thereby increasingthe axial force it may withstand before buckling. Additionally, theplurality of first vertical members 122 and the second vertical members126 of protrusion section 120 spread the forces among the plurality offirst vertical members 122 and the second vertical members 126 evenly,thereby decreasing the amount of force each vertical member experiences.

As shown, the form liner 150 and the backer panel 110 are large sheetswith distinct protrusion geometry 159 and 119, respectively. The formliner 150 is a sheet having the protrusion geometry 159 of a sawtoothpattern and the backer panel 110 is a sheet having the protrusiongeometry 119 of a sawtooth pattern with multiple protrusions in the formof a rectangular wave making up a sawtooth. The backer panel 110 isdimensioned to fit within the recesses 166 of the form liner 150 wherethe posterior surface 118 of the backer panel 110 is adjacent theanterior surface 157 of the form liner 150. The first horizontal member124 of the protrusions 121 of the backer panel 110 is adjacent to theanterior surface 157 of the form liner 150 and the second horizontalmember 128 of the protrusions 121 of the backer panel 110 is adjacent tothe interior surface 13 of the sheathing 12 of the form system 10. Thefirst vertical member 122 and second vertical member 126 spans betweenthe first horizontal member 124 and second horizontal member 128 totransfer the force 30 of the concrete 16 from the horizontal member 164of the form liner 150 to the more rigid sheathing 12. The backer panelprovides a rigid structural frame to prevent the form liner 150 frombuckling and deflecting under pressure.

The form liner 150 and the backer panels 110 may be, in a preferredembodiment, formed as extruded sheets having protrusion geometry 159 and119, respectively. Alternatively, form liner 150 and the backer panel110 may be formed by corrugating a material into the desired protrusiongeometry 159 and 119, respectively. The form liner 150 and backer panel110 may be made of, but not limited to, plastic, elastomeric,semi-elastomeric urethane or any other material or combination ofmaterials.

The pattern, shape and geometry of the form liner 150 and backer panel110 is not meant to be limiting and various different patterns, shapesand geometries may be used for the form liner 150 and backer panel 110.In order to provide virtually unlimited aesthetic choices for a concretesurface, the form liner 150 may be varied and include, but not limitedto, fluted patterns, fin patterns, brick patterns, block patterns, woodgrain patterns, textured patterns and other custom patterns. The backerpanel 110 pattern may be made of various shapes such as cylindrical,tubular, triangular, spherical, conical, hexagonal pyramids or any othershape which may be utilized to provide a structure to supportmultidimensional forces. The backer panel 110 pattern will be made toconform within an envelope defined by the pattern, shape and geometry ofthe form liner 150 wherein the resulting protrusions of the backer panel110 are contiguous to the anterior surface 157 of the form liner 150 andare contiguous to the interior surface 13 of the sheathing 12 of theform system 10. Other form liner patterns could have differently shapedbacker panel support structures, as long as the purpose of supportingthe form liner is achieved. It is also contemplated that the backerpanel 110 may be constructed to fit currently existing form liners.

Referring now to FIG. 7, a top plan view of the form liner backer panelsystem 100 is shown with the backer panel 110 received by form liner 150thereby creating a rigid frame structure able to resist buckling anddeflection caused by the pressures of concrete. Insertion of the backerpanel 110 into the recesses 166 of the form liner 150 provides the formliner 150 with a rigid frame structure to adequately support the formliner 150 from the pressures exerted by the concrete.

As discussed above in conjunction with FIGS. 5 and 6, the horizontalmember 164 of the form liner 150 without the rigid frame structureprovided by the backer panel 110 is subject to buckling and deflection.The horizontal member 164 has low pressure handling capacity due to itsrelatively long width 172 compared to its thickness 170. When inserted,the backer panel 110 provides the horizontal member 164 of the formliner 150 with a rigid support frame to support the horizontal member164 and prevent it from buckling and deflecting. Each protrusion section120 of the backer panel 110 provides each sawtooth section 160 of theform liner 150 with eight (8) vertical members to withstand thepressures exerted by the concrete. The plurality of vertical members ofthe backer panel transfers the force exerted onto the form liner 150 bythe concrete 16 to the sheathing 12 of the form system 10. The formsystem 10 is typically built to withstand many times the amount ofpressures exerted by the concrete in order to ensure adequate strengthand durability. As a result, the form system 10 can withstand the forcestransferred by the backer panel 110 from the for liner 150 without anydeflection, ensuring that the form liner 150 will form a proper and asspecified textured concrete surface.

It is also contemplated that the backer panel 150 may be utilized onlyat sections of the form liner 150 susceptible to buckling and deflectiondue to the pressures exerted by the concrete. In particular, the backerpanels 110 may be utilized at lower elevations of the form liner 150 tosupport the higher pressures of the concrete and not utilized at higherelevations as the pressures are lower. At higher elevations, the formliner 150 may provide adequate structural strength to withstand thepressures of the concrete at that particular area. The resulting backerpanel 110 will have areas with protrusions and areas without asdetermined to support the areas of the form liner 150 which needadditional support.

Due to the rigid frame structure provided by the backer panel 110, theform liner 150 may have more liberties in its design and manufacture. Asmentioned above, a design consideration when constructing form liners150 is its structural strength. This leads to using heavier, more rigidmaterials, larger thicknesses and designs having inherent structuralstiffness resulting in heavy and bulky form liners 150 which may bedifficult to handle and use. With the backer panel 110, the structuralstrength of the form liner 150 may be minimized as a design constraint.The backer panel 110 prevents deformation of the form liner 150 throughbuckling and deflection. This will allow form liners 150 to bemanufactured with a thinner thickness, larger widths, and more complexdesigns as the backer panel 110 will provide structural support to theform liner 150. The lighter form liner 150 will also be easier to handleand use.

Referring now to FIG. 8, a perspective detailed view of the form system10 fitted with the form liner backer panel system 100 is shown. Thefigure shows a cutaway detailed view of an attachment method formounting the backer panel 110 and form liner 150 to the sheathing 12 ofform system 10. The material and structure of the form liner 150 andbacker panel 110 results in lightweight and rigid components for easyhandling and installation.

The backer panel 110 is fitted within the form liner 150 and both areplaced against the sheathing 12. The backer panel 110 is fitted withinthe recesses 166 of the form liner 150 where the posterior surface 118of the backer panel 110 is adjacent to and contacts the anterior surface157 of the form liner 150. The form liner 150 covers the posteriorsurface 118 of the backer panel 110 creating the form liner backer panelsystem 100. The form liner backer panel system 100 has the anteriorsurface 117 of the backer panel 110 exposed and the posterior surface158 of the form liner 150 exposed. Once assembled, the form liner backpanel system 100 is placed against the interior surface 13 of sheathing12 at a predetermined location. The anterior surface 117 of the backerpanel 110 is adjacent to and flush with the interior surface 13 of thesheathing 12 and the posterior surface 158 of the form liner 150 isexposed to the interior of the form system 10.

Once in position, a countersink type screw 40 is driven through thehorizontal members 164 and 124 of the form liner 150 and backer panel110, respectively. The screw 40 is tightened just enough so that thescrew head of screw 40 sits flush with the surface of the form liner150. Each screw is spaced a perimeter distance 42 or interior distance44 apart from a subsequent screw. The screws 40 are typically spacedperimeter distance 42 twelve (12) inches apart around the perimeter ofthe form liner 150 and the interior distance 34 twelve (12)inches-eighteen (18) inches apart throughout the rest of the form liner150. The length of screw 40 should be chosen so that there is sufficientlength to cover the distance from the posterior surface 158 of the formliner 150 to the sheathing 12, with enough extra length so as tosufficiently penetrate into the sheathing 12. Alternatively, the formliner 150 and backer panel 110 may be attached to the sheathing 12 withthe use of screws, glue, industrial tape or various other removableattachment means known in the art.

Upon completion of the concrete wall with textured surface, the stepsare reversed to remove the form liner 150 and backer panel 110. Thescrews 40 are removed to detach the form liner backer panel system 100from sheathing 12. Once all the screws 40 are removed, the form linerbacker panel system 100 is taken apart from the sheathing 12 as a wholeor in parts. Specifically, the form liner backer panel system 100 may beremoved and disassembled later or the form liner 150 may be removed fromthe sheathing 13 first, followed by the backer panel 110. Once the formliner 150 and back panel 110 are separated, the form liners 150 andbacker panels 110 may be stacked in their relative groups. The recessesand protrusions of the backer panel 110 allow a subsequent backer panel110 to be stacked. The form liner 150 can be stacked in a similar manneras well. This allows for compact storage and easier mobility of the formliner backer panel system 100.

Referring now to FIG. 9, in conjunction with FIG. 10, a top plan view ofthe form liner backer panel system 100 utilized in form system 10 tocreate a concrete wall with textured surface is shown. The force 30 ofthe concrete 16 is met by the vertical members provided by theprotrusion sections 120 of backer panel 110. The backer panel 110supports the form liner 150 and prevents buckling and deflectioncreating a true-to-form concrete wall with textured surface. The backerpanel 110 is utilized to fully support the form liner 150.

Referring now to FIG. 11, in conjunction with FIG. 12, a top plan viewof an alternative embodiment of the form liner backer panel system ofthe present invention is shown and generally designated 200. FIG. 11illustrates the form system 10 containing an alternative embodiment of aform liner 250 having a pattern commonly known as a smooth flute. Thebacker panel 210 has a series of smaller flutes 212 to support thelarger flutes 252 of the form liner 250. Similar to form liner 150 andbacker panel 110 described above, the smaller flutes 212 of the backerpanel 210 are contiguous to the posterior of the form liner 250 and arecontiguous to the interior surface 13 of the sheathing 12 of the formsystem 10, providing support to resist the urging of the form liner 250to deflect and buckle under pressure. The protrusions of the smallerflutes 212 of the backer panel 210 provide structural protrusions tosupport the form liner 250 from deflecting and buckling under excessivepressure.

Referring now to FIG. 13, an alternative embodiment of the backer panelis shown and generally designated 310. The backer panel 310 ismanufactured with a plurality of protrusions in the shape of truncatedcones 312. The truncated cones 312 vary in height 314 and tapers from abase diameter 316 to a truncated diameter 318. The dimensions of thetruncated cone 312 may be modified to fit a particular form liner 150 toprovide a rigid structural frame to prevent the form liner 150 fromdeformation due to buckling and deflection.

Referring now to FIG. 14, an alternative embodiment of the backer panelis shown and generally designated 410. The backer panel 410 ismanufactured with a plurality of protrusions in the shape of rectangulartubes 412. The rectangular tubes 412 vary in height 414 and width 416.The dimensions of the rectangular tube 412 may be modified to fit aparticular form liner 150 to provide a rigid structural frame to preventthe form finer 150 from deformation due to buckling and deflection.

While the form liner backer panel system 100 of the present invention asherein shown and disclosed in detail is fully capable of obtaining theobjects and providing the advantages herein before stated, it is to beunderstood that it is merely illustrative of preferred and alternativeembodiments of the invention and that no limitations are intended to thedetails of construction or design herein shown other than as describedin the appended claims.

I claim:
 1. A backer panel for providing support for a form liner havinga plurality of protrusions, comprising: a sheet having an anteriorsurface and a posterior surface and formed with protrusions configuredto be received by the form liner, wherein a plurality of protrusions ofsaid sheet are configured to be received by a single protrusion of theform liner; and wherein the sheet is placed between the form liner and aform system, the posterior surface of the sheet is contiguous to aposterior surface of the form liner and the anterior surface of thesheet is contiguous to an interior surface of the form system.
 2. Thebacker panel of claim 1, wherein the sheet is further formed to receivean adjacent backer panel.
 3. The backer panel of claim 1, wherein thebacker panel is removably attached to the form liner.
 4. The backerpanel of claim 1, wherein the protrusions are arranged in a protrusiongeometry.
 5. The backer panel of claim 4, wherein each of said pluralityof protrusions has a smooth flute pattern.
 6. The backer panel of claim4, wherein each of said plurality of protrusions has a quadrilateralwave pattern.
 7. The backer panel of claim 1, wherein each of saidprotrusions of said sheet comprises: a first vertical member; a secondvertical member; a first horizontal member connected between said firstvertical member and said second vertical member; and a second horizontalmember connected to said first vertical member.
 8. A backer panel forproviding support for a form liner having an anterior surface, aposterior surface, and formed with a protrusion geometry creating aplurality of protrusions in said form liner, comprising: a sheet havingan anterior surface, a posterior surface, and formed with a protrusiongeometry comprising a plurality of patterned sections having a pluralityof protrusions, wherein said protrusions of each patterned section areformed to be received within a single protrusion of said form liner. 9.The backer panel of claim 8, wherein said protrusions of said backerpanel are configured to receive said protrusions of an adjacent backerpanel.
 10. The backer panel of claim 8, wherein each of said protrusionsof said backer panel is a smooth flute.
 11. The backer panel of claim 8,wherein each of said protrusions comprises: a first vertical member; asecond vertical member; a first horizontal member connected between saidfirst vertical member and said second vertical member; and a secondhorizontal member connected to said first vertical member.
 12. A backerpanel for providing support to a form liner formed with a plurality ofprotrusions in said form liner, comprising: a sheet formed with aplurality of patterned sections having a plurality of protrusions insaid sheet; and wherein said protrusions of each patterned section ofsaid sheet are formed to be received within a single protrusion of saidform liner.